Many refinements of conveyor belts are used. In the simplest case, a conveyor belt comprises a simple rubber belt which is guided over two deflection rollers, with one of the deflection rollers being driven. Support rollers, which do not have a drive, are then arranged between the deflection rollers. In other cases, the conveyor belt comprises one or two conveyor chains or one or two conveyor cables on which individual conveyor segments which are not directly connected to one another are mounted such that they adjoin one another. Other refinements are also possible and are used—depending on the application. One example of a refinement of this type includes individual segments which are connected to one another in an articulated manner.
Conveyor belts are used in many applications, including in mining (overground and underground), in primary industries (for example iron smelting) and in other cases in which, for example, bulk materials have to be transported. In these applications in particular, the conveyor belts used are often subjected to high loads and this consequently leads to wear. Maintenance costs may be considerable here. Damage to the conveyor belt which is not identified in good time may lead to the entire conveyor line (for example from a mining site to a bunker) malfunctioning.
The prior art discloses carrying out belt inspections in order to prevent such malfunctions. However, belt inspections can only be carried out when the conveyor belt is at a standstill (that is to say not continuously). Belt inspections are also time-consuming and labor-intensive and furthermore result in only subjective assessment of the condition of the conveyor belt. Depending on the experience of the person carrying out the belt inspection, it is possible that damage may not be identified and/or wear reserves may not be depleted.
In order to be able to make a reliable statement about the condition of the conveyor belt, it is necessary, in particular, to reliably identify damage at the edges of the conveyor belt, damage to the elements which absorb forces in the conveying direction (for example longitudinal cables and/or connecting sections between belt sections) and other quality factors of the individual belt sections of the conveyor belt.
Furthermore, the prior art already discloses arranging an ultrasonic detector on either side of the conveyor belt for this purpose, it being possible to use said ultrasonic detector to detect damage to the edges during operation of the conveyor belt.
It is also known to use a camera system to record damage to the belt, which has already been detected, for documentation purposes.